Method and apparatus for turning tubular fabric



Feb. 21, 1933. A. w. FRSTALL 8 1,898,824

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TURNING TUBULAR FABRIC Filed Deo. 6, 195o qu2 sheets-sheet l N Feb 21, 1933. A. w FoRsTALL METHOD AND APPARATUS FORTURNING TUBULAR FABRIC Filed Deo. 6, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 21, 1933 ATsNr ersten ARMAND W. FORSTALL, OF DENVER', COLORADO METHOD .AND APPARATUS FOR TURNING TUBULAR FABRIC Application filed December The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for turning tubular fabric.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a method of turning tubular fabric by which it will be possible to reverse much longer lengths of fabric in a single piece than has heretofore been possible in a rapid andpractical manner with a minimum of injurious handling of the fabric.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved apparatus for turning tubular fabric which is particularly adapted for carrying out the method above described and is simple and inexpensive in construction and efficient in operation.

1With these and other objects in View, as will hereinafter appear in the description, the invention consists in the method and apparatus hereinafter described and particu- 0 larly defined in the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings, Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic view of an apparatus for turning tubular fabric embodying the several features of the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the telescopic tube and supporting member mounted therein; Fig. 3' is a view of a portion of the telescopic tube in eX- tended'positions; Fig. 4 is a detail view corresponding to Fig. 3, showing the construction of the spring locking members in the telescopic tube; Fig. 5 is a view of the tube while supported from above during the turning of the fabric; Fig. 6 is a detail view of the spring plunger employed to lock the telescopic tube in its collapsed position; and Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the frame comprising a portion of the tamping device taken on the line 7? of Fig. l.

As the operation of reversing tubular fabric is ordinarily carried out, the fabric is drawn through a tube which is supported in a horizontal position on horses or other convenient supports, and is then gathered as closely as possible by hand vonto the outside. Finally, after all the fabric has been packed onto the outside of the tube, itis drawn off an d round onto a drum or other suitable holder. If it be assumed, for example, that the fabric to be turned has a diameter of two feet, a tube having a length 0f as much as e, i930. Serial No. 500,599.

eighteen or twenty feet and a diameter of perhaps twenty inches is employed for the turning operation, capable of receiving and turning from one hundred to two hundred yards of cloth in a single piece. This method of turning fabric has been found to have certain disadvantages. rl"he operation, being carried out almost entirely by hand, requires considerable time, is cumbersome, and is apt to result in injury to the fabric due to the necessity of lifting the tube frequently clear of the supports to permit the fabric to be drawn off from or packed onto its exterior surface. Moreover, the amount of fabric which it is feasible to turn in one piece on a packing tube of this sort is limited by practical considerations to not more than one 0r two hundred yards.

In carrying out the objects of the present invention, it is proposed to pack the fabric to be turned inside the t'ube and then to draw it off over the outside while supporting the tube in such a manner as not to interfere with the free passage of the cloth during the turning operation. To this end, the tube is closed at one end and is provided with a centrally located member which is rigidly fastened to the closed bottom portion of the tube and extends out through the open end. During the packing operation, the tube is placed preferably in a vertical position with the open end up, and the fabric is packed around the central member. As the last end of the fabric is packed into the tube, the end of Jthe member is revealed and may be connected to a support overhead to permit the tube to be lifted clear of its base. rllhe fabric is now drawn over the upper rim and off over the outside and bottom portions of the tube to reverse the fabric. Since, with this method of handling, the weight of the tube and the fabric contained therein can be supported at all times by mechanical means, and the supporting mechanism for the tube in no Way interferes with the free handling of the mao terialL the tube can be lengthcned out to receive lsubstantially any lengthl of fabric desired without materially decreasing the efliciency of the apparatus.

Referring specifically to the drawings, a

packing tube 10, closed at its lower end, is mounted in a vertical position in a fixed base or support 12. To facilitate in the packing operation and for convenience in handling 32 large quantities of cloth, the tube 10 is constructed with a plurality of removable sections 14, 16 and 18, as shown in Fig. 1, in a somewhat diagrammatic fashion, which may be screw threaded to t successively onto the tuber 10. Centrally located within the tube and secured to the bottom 20 thereof by a plug 21 is a telescoping or extensible tubular member 22 which, at the beginning of the packing operation, occupies a closed position and is adapted as the packing progresses fo be lengthened out so that it always extends beyond the open upper end of the packing tube. The fabric, indicated at 24 in F ig. 1,

. is fed from a drum or truck 25 through each of the sections 18, 16 and 14 of the t'ube in turn, being guided over a series of guiding rolls 26 for this purpose, upwardly over an idler roll 28 situated at a point above the packing tube, and then downwardly between the feed rolls 30 into the tube 10. `During the packing operation, a bell-shaped member 31 is screwed to the inner or top section of the centrally located telescoping tube 22 so that the fabric being fed into the packing tube will be opened ont and allowed to fall about the telescoping tube in a roughly circular shape conforming to the shape of the packing tube. For p'urposes of illustrating, the positions of the idler rolls 26 and the additional. sections 14, 16 and 18 are shown in Fig. 1 in a somewhat diagrammatic fashion. since any convenient arrangement of these parts of the apparatus may be employed. As the packing progresses, the sections 14, 16 and 18 are successively lifted into position to lengthen the packing tube.

In order to pack the fabric tightly into thel packing tube, a tamping device is provided which comprises two weighted tamping members 32 which are mounted for limited movement in a frame 34 by the engagement of pins 36 formed in the frame in vertical slots 38 formed in the tamping members 32. The

tamping members 32 are provided with wedge-shaped gripping `iaws 39 which are preferably rubber-tipped and are adapted to grip the cloth on the downward movement of the device between the gripping jaws 39 and the highly polished surface of the telescoping tube 22. The frame 34 comprises two vertically situated members provided with converging cam surfaces 40 on which the tamping members 32 are adapted to ride, and the expansible springT bands 42 connecting the members 34 at their upper and lower ends so that the frame is held in frictional Contact with the inner walls of the tube. The tamping device is actuated during the packing operation by means of a hoist barely indicated by a chain 43 in Fig. 5, which is connected during the packing operation by means of a hook 44 and the connecting chains 46 to the upper ends of the tamping members In the operation of the device, the tamping members 32 are raised, first moving to their` high position in the frame 34, and then carrying the frame with them t0 the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1. The members 32 are then permitted to fall under their own weight, moving down relatively to the frame 34 on the converging cam surfaces 40 to pinch or grab a portion of the fabric, the weight of the members 32 then acting to force the frame downwardly to the full line osition shown in Fig. 1 to tamp down the fa ric.

During the turning operation, the reversing tube 10 is raised and supported clear 0f the base 12 to permit the fabric to be drawn freely over the outside and bottom portions of the tube by means of the centrally located telescoping member 22 above described. At this time, the bell-shaped member 31 is removed and a hook 54 is screwed onto the, upper end of the rod to engage with the chain 43 on the hoist, as shown in Fig. 5.

Immediately below the hook 54 and near the upper end of the member 22, a conical member 58 is placed to spread out the fabric as it is drawn up over the toprim of the tube. Rolls 60 are v mounted in the rim of the tube to carry the fabric over the top Without undue wear or friction. In order to prevent the tube from swaying unduly, rolls 62 are spaced at intervals around the tube along its length and supported in any convenient manner as, for instance, on the frame of the building within which the apparatus is preferably located. The fabric is drawn down between the outer surface of the tube and the rolls 62 and off the lower end of the tube where it is then made to pass between the feed rolls 64, completing the turning operation. f Y

The extensible member 22 for supporting the packing tube during the fabric turning operation comprises a number of telescoping sections, each of which is provided at its lower end with a number of lugs 68 which are forced yieldinglv against the inner surface of the next larger section on spring members 66. When any section is moved upwardly to lengthen the tube 22, these lugs are adapted to engage with corresponding recesses 70 formed in the upper end of the next larger section to lock the sections in their extended positions. In order to hold the several sections of the collapsible tube 22 in closed position until it is desired to advance them, a spring pressed plunger 74 is formed in the upper end of each section exeepting the bottom one. and is adapted to engage with a corresponding recess 76 in the next larger section. as best shown in Fig. 6. A s asection of the tube 10 is filled up during the packing opera-tion and it becomes necessary to add another section, as for instance, that shown at 14 in Fig. 1, the collapsible tube'22 is raised to bring the bell-shaped member 31 above the top level of the new section by feeling` through the fabric to press the spring pressed plungers 74 inwardly, permitting the nent succeeding section to be moved upwardly to bring its spring abutments 68 into engagement with the corresponding recesses 70 in the upper end of the larger section already in place. Y

yThe several steps. of the method of reversing tubular fabric and the mode of operation of the apparatusemployed in carrying out this method may be described' follows: the packing tube 10 is mounted in the support 12 in a vertical position and the bell-shaped member 31 is mounted on the innermost or top section of the telescoping member 22, the length of which is adjusted to bring the bellshaped member 31 to a position somewhat above the end of the section 10 which will not interfere with the operation of the tamping device. The fabric, indicated at 24, is now led from the drum 25 over the idle rollers 26 through each of the disconnected sections 18, 16 and 14 to be used in packing material, and finally over the idler pulley 28 down between the fee-d roller 3G into the tube 10. The bell-shaped member 31 serves to spread out the material into a circular shape and facilitates the operation of the tamping device in packing down the cloth. The packing operation is now commenced by raising the tamping members 32 and the frame 34 to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, as previously described, and then by releasing the hammers to cause the tamping device to grip and pack down a length of fabric. vThis operation is repeated until the tube 10 is filled to a sufficiently high level with cloth. The operation is now stopped and the second section 14 of the tube 10 is secured in place, and the telescoping tube 22 is correspondingly lengthened to bring the bell-shaped member above the top of the new section 14 of the tube by releasing the spring plungers 7 4 in the next succeeding smaller section and raising this section into locking position with its spring abutment G8 in engagement with the. corresponding recess .70 in the next larger section. The tamping operation is again resumed until the section 14 of the tube 10 is filled with cloth, when the tube 16 is added, and the support member 5() and the telescoping tube are correspondingly lengtliene-d as before. After all the fabric has been packed into the tube 10, thus leaving the upper end of the support member 22 ennosed to view, the bell-shaped member 81 is removed and the inverted conical-shaped member 58 and the hook 54 are secured to the upper end of the support member 50. At this time, the

tamping device is removed from the tube and the lioist'43 is connected to the hook 54,. to raise the tube out of engagement with the support 12. The apparatus is now set up for the turning operation. T he fabric is drawn over the rolls 60 on the upper rim of the tube 10 and down over the outside and bottom portions of the tube and between the feed rolls; 64 to reverse the fabric.

The proper packing of the fabric to permit its subsequent withdrawal without undesirable bunching or kinking of the cloth is greatly assisted by the presence of the telescoping member 22 which is located inside the tubular column formed bv the fabricv as it is packed in the packing tube and maintains the fabric in a roughly circular shape. 'lo insure the greatest possible freedom of movement to the fabric as it is drawn over the rim and down the outside of the packing tube, the tube is supported entirely bythe telescoping tube 22 and the hoist 43 and is free to turn about its axis so that any kinks which have been formed in the packing operation tend Ato be .straightened out by a compensatory rotating movement of the packing tube. ln order to make the apparatus more completely automatic in operation, it is contemplated that the feed rolls and the hoist will be driven in timed relation by power in any convenient manner, as for instance, by means of electric motors.

ldlhile the applicant does not wish to be limited to any particular shape or design of apparatus to be employed and the dimensions will necessarily differ in accordance with the diameter of the tubular cloth to be turned. it may be stated that for turning tubular fabric having a diameter of approximately two feet, the packing tube may have a diameter of about twenty inches and is preferably made in sections six or seven feet in length so that the tube, when assembled, will extend upwardly through two or three floors vof a building and will be capable of receiving as much as two thousand yards of fabric in a single piece.r

The invention having been described, what is claimed is: f

1. ln a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a tube, a tamping device for packing fabric into the tube, and means for guiding the fabric off over the outside of the tube to reverse the fabric. Y

2. ln a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a tube, means for packing an entire length of fabric within the tube, and means for supporting the tube arranged to permit the fabric thereafter to be drawn off over the outside ofthe tube to reverse the fabric out of Contact with said supporting means.

3. In a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a tube, and a supporting member for supporting the tube centrally located and secured within the tube to yper- `tothe closed lower end, and a support to which the member is secured during the turning operation to support the tube.

6. In a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a vertically situated tube closed at its lower end and comprising a plurality of disconnectible sections, tamping means for packing fabric into the tube,

` and means for supportin the tube to psrmit the fabric to be drawn o over the tu 7. In a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a vertically situated tube closed at its lower end and comprising a pluralityof disconnectible sections, an extensible member centrally located within the tube and secured to the closed lower end, and a support to which the member is secured during the turning operation to support the tube.

8. In a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a vertically situated tube closed at its lower end and comprising a plurality of disconnectible sections, an extensible member centrally located within the tube and secured to the closed lower end, a support to which the member is secured during the turning operation to support the tube, and tamping means for packing fabric around the member in the tube.

9. In a machine for turnin tubular fabric, the combination of a packmg tube closed at one end and a tamping device arranged to operate within the tube to seize and pack tubular fabric tightly into the tube.

10. In a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a packing tube closed at one end, a member centrally located within and secured to the closed end of the tube, and a packing device for packing the tubular fabric within the tube around said member.

11. In a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a vertically situated tube closed at itslower end and a tamping device for packing fabric into the tube comprising a frame frictionally engaging with the inner walls of the tube and weighted tamping members adapted for a converging downward movement on the frame, and aeans for raising and releasing the said mem- 12. In a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a packing tube, a supporting member for the tube centrally located and secured within the tube, and a tamping device for packingthe fabric into theV tube about the said member comprising gripping devices adapted to seize and pac the fabric in the tube.

13. In a machinefor turning tubular fabric, the combination of a vertically situated tube closed at its lower end, a sup orting member for the tube centrally locate therein and secured to the closed lower end, and a tamping device for packing the fabric into thetube about the said member comprising a frame frictionally engaging with the inner walls of the tube, weighted tamping members adapted for a limited movement on the frame converging downwardly into contact with the said supporting member, and means for raising and releasingthe tamping members.

14. In a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a vertically situated tube closed at its lower end and a tamping device comprising a frame adapted for frictional engagement with the walls of the tube and provided with downwardly converging guiding surfaces, weighted tamping members adapted for limited vertical movement with relation to the frame on said guiding surfaces. and means for raising and releasing the tamping members to cause them to move to their converging position to grab the fabric and thereafter to move the frame downwardly within the tube to pack the fabric.

15. In a machine for turning tubular fabric, the combination of a vertically situated tube closed at its lower end, a supporting member centrally located within the tube and secured to the closed lower end and a tamping device for packing fabric into the tube around the said member comprising a frame friction ally engaging with the inner walls of the tube and weighted tamping members adapted for a converging downward movement on the frame into engagement with said member, and lifting means for raising the tamping members carrying with them the frame and acting thereafter to release the tamping members to permit these to move downwardly to their converging position to grip the fabric against the said member and thereafter to move the frame downwardly to pack the fabric in the tube.

16. A method of turning tubular fabric which comprises feeding the fabric into a vertically situated tube closed at its lower end and provided with a member centrally located within the tube, packing the entire length of tubular fabric tightly within the tube about the said member, and thereafter supporting the tube from above by means of said member, and drawing off the fabric over the outside and bottom portions of the tube.

17. A method of turning tubular fabric which comprises feeding the fabric through a plurality of sections of a disconnectible packing tube, packing the entire length of tubular fabric tightly into the tube about an extensible member centrally located within the tube and secured to the bottom thereof, securing the successive sections of the tube in place as the packing progresses, correspondingly lengthening the said member, supportfY ing the tube from above by means of said member after the packing operation is completed, and drawing 0E the fabric over the outside and bottom portions of the tube to turn the fabric. l

18. A method of turning tubular fabric which comprises feeding an entire length of tubular fabric into the open end of a tube closed at its other end and over a centrally located member extending the length of the tube and secured thereto at its closed end, tamping the fabric into a compact mass within the tube by gripping the fabric from the outside and forcing down the fabric within the tube, thereafter supporting the tube from above by means of said member, and drawing 'off the fabric over the outside and bottom portions of the tube.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ARMAND w. FoRsTALL. 

